Banks and other financial institutions might reasonably have expected that, 10 years after the collapse of Bear Stearns and the demise of Lehman Brothers, they would finally be free and clear of lawsuits spawned by the financial crisis. That has not come to pass. Nor does freedom from legal actions rooted in the events of … Continue Reading

On March 8, the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York concluded a lengthy “claims estimation” trial to determine the appropriate final settlement price for a resolution of lawsuits filed on behalf of investors in residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) created by Lehman Brothers Holdings prior to its bankruptcy in September 2008. The judge … Continue Reading

Here is a situation that comes up quite a bit in the world of business contracts containing indemnification provisions, and in the insurance industry as well. First, a party (“Party A”) gets sued, or threatened with a suit, and settles the claims against it. Party A then seeks indemnification from another party (“Party B”) for … Continue Reading

On November 1, President Trump formally did away with a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) arbitration rule that would have given consumers the opportunity to file class actions against banks and other companies in the financial services industry. The CFPB rule was released in July 2017. It sought to prohibit and eliminate bans against class … Continue Reading

Thousands of mortgage lenders across the country either recently received, or will soon be receiving, this document from Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. (LBHI). It is a notice of a motion to approve a proposed settlement of Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities (RMBS) claims asserted by trustees and investors against LBHI over the last few years. The notice … Continue Reading

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today, in Bank of America Corp. v. City of Miami, Case No. 15-1111 that cities may qualify as “aggrieved persons” under the Fair Housing Act (“FHA”), thus placing them within the “zone of interests” covered by that federal statute. As such, they are permitted to sue banks for the secondary … Continue Reading

Wednesday, February 1 brought a welcome development for the many correspondent lenders currently defending against claims filed by (or threatened with future lawsuits by) Residential Funding Company (“RFC”) and its successor-in-interest, the ResCap Liquidating Trust (“ResCap”). There have been three venues in which RFC and ResCap have been litigating, for years now, against correspondent lenders. … Continue Reading

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, a highly influential appellate court sitting in New York, on September 26 issued a unanimous ruling with major implications for antitrust and unfair competition laws, the payment card industry, and merchants that accept payments by credit card. The Second Circuit reversed a district court win … Continue Reading

In the aftermath of major data breaches at deep-pocketed retailers and other businesses, there is typically no shortage of litigants who move quickly to seek compensation from the business at which the breach occurred. But whether the would-be plaintiffs’ claims get very far in court often depends on whether those plaintiffs are individual consumers, or … Continue Reading

The U.S. Supreme Court held Monday that the Ninth Circuit erred when it ruled consumers can sue companies without alleging actual injury. The Supreme Court ruled that a consumer could not sue Spokeo Inc. for mere technical violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Its holding left the door open for plaintiffs in other cases to … Continue Reading

Calling the settlement a reproach for “years of reckless underwriting” at Wells Fargo, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in Manhattan announced on April 8th that Wells Fargo & Co. formally reached a record $1.2 billion settlement of a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit. A notable feature of the settlement is Wells Fargo’s specific admission that it … Continue Reading

On December 23, 2015, the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the Delaware Chancery Court’s award of $195 million to PharmAthene, Inc. (“PharmAthene”) as compensation for lost profits (a/k/a expectation damages) on account of the failure by its counter-party to a term sheet to negotiate a license agreement in good faith. The judgment was affirmed notwithstanding the … Continue Reading

Citibank, N.A. has asked a federal district court to bless its $23 million settlement in a class action lawsuit alleging a wide-ranging conspiracy among banks to fix yen-denominated London Interbank Offered Rates (LIBOR) interest rates between 2006 and 2010. The settlement is the first of its kind in the case. The lead plaintiff in the … Continue Reading

Six victories that clients of ours had won over Lehman and Aurora in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado got affirmed on January 27 by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver after hotly-contested rounds of appellate briefing and oral argument. In a 37-page written opinion, the appellate panel unanimously affirmed … Continue Reading

As we reflect on 2015, we are especially thankful for all of the connections that we have made this year. We are thankful for our clients, our colleagues, our friends, and all of our readers. Thus, for our holiday video we wanted to focus on the power of relationships because our relationships are the foundation … Continue Reading

In the span of two days, mobile device users learned of two data breaches that could compromise their personal data. In one, Experian (a credit reporting agency) reported that it was hacked, potentially putting 15 million American consumers’ data at risk. Many of those consumers were T-Mobile customers who needed to submit to a credit … Continue Reading

Many big cities in the United States responded to the fallout from the 2008 financial crisis by passing local laws which pressure banks to invest more in low-income neighborhoods. Between 2010 and 2013, cities such as New York, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, Boston, Minneapolis, Kansas City and Pittsburgh all enacted ordinances of this … Continue Reading

Attorneys for certain banks and other financial institutions that are caught up in Target’s 2013 data breach are objecting to the $67 million deal struck last week between the retailer and Visa Inc. The banks and credit unions are the only plaintiffs left in the data breach litigation after Target paid $10 million in March … Continue Reading

A federal appeals court has revived a lawsuit accusing MasterCard, Visa and three major banks of illegally fixing ATM prices to the detriment of consumers. A federal district judge had thrown out the lawsuit in 2013 after finding the plaintiffs failed to show any conspiracy to overcharge consumers. On Tuesday, the federal appeals court in … Continue Reading

Obama claims progress has been made Sunday, September 15, 2013, marked the fifth anniversary of Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy, the largest in U.S. history. It is widely believed that Lehman’s meltdown set off a domino effect that led to the global financial crisis and proved to be a major contributing cause of the housing market collapse. … Continue Reading

Civil Lawsuits Filed Stop me if you have heard something like this before. The Department of Justice announced a civil lawsuit on Tuesday alleging that Bank of America defrauded buyers of mortgage-backed securities by lying about the quality of the home loans involved. The Securities and Exchange Commission also announced a parallel case against BofA. … Continue Reading

Lehman is demanding millions of dollars from non-profits As widely reported, in the latest Lehman bankruptcy “fundraiser,” managers of the Lehman estate are now demanding millions of dollars from non-profit retirement homes, colleges and hospitals. Lehman claims that it was somehow “shortchanged” by multiple non-profit organizations that were forced to pay to exit derivatives that … Continue Reading

Crying Foul Wells Fargo has recently cried foul, claiming that the Department of Justice’s latest lawsuit against it in the Southern District of New York violates the terms of a settlement agreement Wells had previously reached with the federal government. And not just any settlement; Wells Fargo is referring to the infamous “Robo-signing” “deal” among … Continue Reading

On May 3, 2012, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan refused to allow insurers for former officers and directors of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. to settle a fraud lawsuit for $90 million. The lawsuit had been brought as a class action by shareholders of Lehman Brothers. Judge Kaplan was not satisfied with the independent … Continue Reading

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Bilzin Sumberg is a law firm located in the heart of Miami. Unlike many of its competitors, Bilzin Sumberg is an indigenous firm, which means that we are deeply committed to and engrained in the commercial life of South Florida. Our lawyers are deeply integrated in the city’s business, legal and government sectors. Moreover, our lawyers and staff are involved in a wide spectrum of community initiatives, underscoring how the firm has become synonymous with Miami and its surrounding areas.